Introduction

A long time ago, on a dry desert plain, the boys and I were shooting at a distant prairie dog town. After producing the very first suppressor to the group, we all became addicted to suppressed shooting. Since then I have been adding to my collection, and today we will be taking a look at the Yankee Hill Machine Resonator suppressor.

We all ran muzzle brakes back then, because who wants recoil? Spotting your own hits is always handy sure, but muzzle brakes require good hearing protection. This lead to a firing line of yelling back and forth because we were all to cheap to buy electronic hearing protection. It didn’t take me long to see the value of a good suppressor.

Yankee Hill Machine from the start

My first can (as they are commonly referred to) was a Yankee Hill Machine.  It was a YHM Phantom that graced my muzzle. And I still use it frequently to this day.

There was no looking back after that, it seemed almost ridiculous to shoot without suppression anymore. It didn’t take long for my shooting buddies to catch on. Soon we were all running quite a spread of suppressors.

After multiple begrudging transactions with the ATF, I’ve got cans to outfit everything from rimfires up to forty-fives. I cant seem to get enough of them, like most people, once I shot suppressed I never wanted anything more.

The new Resonator from Yankee Hill Machine just happened to cross my path recently, and much like it’s little brother the Turbo 5.56 I was immediately hooked. The Resonator is a QD mount suppressor. It threads onto a muzzle brake that is attached to the muzzle.

It is quickly spun on, and held captive by a spring loaded ratchet to keep it from coming loose under fire. The gas is sealed by a conical shoulder on the brake, keeping carbon buildup away from the threads. The construction of the Resonator is stainless steel and inconel, and again like the smaller Turbo 556, the simple structure makes the can both light and cost effective.

The muzzle brake comes with the Resonator.  There are an assortment of brakes and thread pitches available from YHM allowing you to purchase extras to fit any applicable hosts.

Shooting with the Yankee Hill Machine Resonator

I started out shooting the Resonator on a Desert Tech SRS A1 Covert.  The rifle was currently setup with a 308 barrel. But I could have dropped in a 300WM barrel as well, the Resonator is rated for up to 300RUM.
Suppressors almost always add a point of impact shift, its almost impossible to add weight and length to the barrel without doing so. The Resonator was no different, I re-zeroed the rifle, which was now hitting several inches high at 100yds after installing the YHM. Shooting the sixteen inch 308 was much more pleasant with a suppressor on the end. And as usual the rifle seamed to shoot better suppressed. The added weight of the can, and the buffering of the report I feel are both beneficial to accuracy.

We also tried the Resonator on a Desert Tech MDR, a short stroke piston 308 auto-loader. The Resonator worked great on the rifle, keeping recoil and noise down to a reasonable level. And the YHM 4302 brake did an OK job at mitigating the recoil all by itself. Any time you put a can on a gas operated semi auto, you’ll find more gas coming out of the rifle. Turning the gas settings down on the rifle made it quite tolerable.

Switching Host Rifles

Many times I went back and forth from rifle to rifle, letting it cool down to keep from burning myself. I couldn’t find anything about the Resonator to complain about. Sure, you can always say they should be lighter, that’s a given. But the Resonator 30 at 16 ounces is still quite light considering the price point of its competitors. I suppose if I had one request to the folks at YHM, it could be a direct thread option of the resonator. That would probably make a few precision rifle shooters happy, and maybe dip the price point a little further, who knows…

Shop Yankee Hill Machine Suppressors at Silencer Central

Final Thoughts

The Resonator is a great option I think for anyone looking to get into the class III market. It would work great on any AR variant, small or large frame. It works great as a companion to a precision rifle too, the price point of the Resonator makes it ideal as a first can, or as another one to add to your NFA collection. Go to YHM.net for more info.

-CBM

And of course, here is a video